NukeHunt
Part of me is now starting to think that the airlines are actually ageist in some way
I quite agree. Shortly after obtaining my licence I applied to a certain cheap airline. Another guy from my course also did. We both had the same flying experience, graduated at the same time and applied for the job at the same time etc the only difference being that he was 22 and I was 31. Well..he got an interview..I didn't. I do get the feeling that the airlines favour the young, 'shapeable' recruits that have no life ties. During my airline preparation course I was actually told that I should not disclose my age or marital status etc at an interview as it instantly implies a 'lack of flexibility'. We need to appear young and free, able to jump at a moment's notice.
I'm now starting to think this might have been a bad move
I think a lot of us in hindsight feel this sentiment. But we made our decisions at the time based on the information available to us. I had many reasons for wanting to train even in the knowledge that it may not work out. I do still hold hope that things will pick up, but we all just need something else to do whilst we're waiting.
MightyDucks
Surly you must of been aware of the current situation in the industry and yet you decided to go ahead with your training anyway.
That's an odd comment to make really as you're saying I should
have been aware of the
current situation. At the time things were not as bad as they are now. Yes the situation was on the way down but we'd just come out of a period when airline recruitment was going well. As I mentioned in my first post, we were led to believe that we would train during the downturn and then graduate in time for the upturn. Even the consensus on these forums agreed with this theory. I knew it was a gamble but I rolled my dice anyway. I think the fact that there are so many of us that have landed in this situation and that people are
still training regardless implies that there was, and still is, a lack of reliable guidance available for people considering a flying career.
Plus you complain about the lifestyle of a pilot even though you had first hand experience of that life working as a lorry driver
Perhaps my first post didn't come across as I intended it to. I didn't write the post to complain about my decisions or the working conditions of flying. I wrote it as an example to others who have yet to start training and also as reasurance to others like me that we are not alone.
It's true that I don't favour the working conditions that I have had to live with previously. However, whereas I used to work 70 hours a week and get 21 days holiday a year for just under £30k a year, pilots (used to) work less hours, get more anual leave and earn more than £30k a year. Some airlines have better rotas - 5 on 4 off for example which would be an improvement. Ok so this may not be the case anymore but the point is I wasn't complaining about it myself, but trying to point out to people reading these threads that pursuing a career in aviation is not as straight forward as they're led to believe.
Had there been more personal accounts, such as the ones in this thread, when I was considering training I might have taken heed of the warnings and thought twice. This is why I think every wannabie should read this thread and the likes of us that have been there and got the licence should post our experiences - good or bad. Perhaps in a year or so I might be able to write a post that shows how I got that first flying job after a long and arduous bad period when all seemed lost...